How To Cook Pancakes in Stop Motion

What's that again? As if all the numerous ways of cooking pancakes aren't confusing enough, here's another new thing about pancakes. If you search through the Internet, you might come across several videos which show exactly that—how to cook pancakes in stop motion. You will see all the ingredients coming together one by one, as if moving by themselves, until they are cooked into pancakes. 

Stop motion animation refers to a technique which makes it appear as if the objects in the video are moving on their own. Photographed stills are often times used as materials and these stills are arranged in a continuous sequence in a video. Once arranged, the person watching the sequence will see the appearance or disappearance of certain elements, hence the illusion of sudden and abrupt movement.

Sometimes, there are performers in stop motion videos. These performers make a slight movement, then they stop as the camera is switched off. Certain elements are then added or removed from the scene, or the performers move to a different location so once the camera is rolling again, there's a sudden change in the video.

To cook pancakes in stop motion, you must know what ingredients are needed to make pancakes. The usual ingredients are: all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, milk and butter. Syrup is also needed for added flavor. You can use clay to substitute for the ingredients, since clay is easier to manipulate. Of course, you must know how to make the clay look like the real thing. 

The necessary equipment for making a stop motion video are: a digital camera, software for editing your video (there are free editing software which you can download from the Internet) and enough space in your computer hard drive to store your photos in. It is suggested that you immediately delete from your digital camera all the shots that you won't be using for your video, to do away with unnecessary editing later on. A tripod is also recommended, to keep the camera stable. Choose a place where you can shoot without interruption and where the setting of your video is most appropriate in. In this case, the kitchen would be the best place. 

Make a script – something you can follow as to the sequence and as to what the materials/performers are doing for every scene. You might want to use a family recipe as basis for this script. Once you have your script, you can start filming your “actors.” Remember that the other elements of your setting such as the lighting and the position of the appliances must not change a lot, since the focus must be on the movement of the “actors.” Numerous photos are needed for one scene, so you must have patience in getting your pictures, and you must keep the angles for each scene the same. Once you have all the photos that you need, import them to your video editing software, in the sequence you want them to appear. It is at this stage that you can add effects such as music or some dubbing.  Edit your video and when you're finished, you can watch it while you’re eating the pancakes you've made. Enjoy!